Furnace.



'No 743,947. PATENTED NOV. 10, 1903. 1); R. STEELE.

v FURNACE; KPPI IIGATION FILED AUG. 11, 1903. Y

' H0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET I".

'BATB'NTED NOV. 10, 1903} D. R. STEELE.

FURNACE. APPLIGATION FILED AUGLH, 190's.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H0 MODEL.

UNITED. STATES- iatented November 10, 1905. PATENT OFFIcE.

DAVID R. STEELE, OF CURTIS BAY, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HARRY D. HARVEY, O F BALTIMORE,'MARYLAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 74;3,94=7, dated November 10, 1903.

Application filed August 11; 1903. Serial No. 169,121. (No model.) Y

To Mr? whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID R. STEELE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Curtis Bay, in the county of Anne Arundel and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furnaces; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in furnaces, and particularly to smelting-furnaces which employ crucibles for holding the per edge of the crucible nearly filling the fur nace area, means for wedging the crucible within the walls of the furnace, the wedging means spacing the crucible from the walls so as to leave a contracted outlet for the products of combustion, a sharp .-edged bafl'iestandard supporting the crucible at the bottom and a hydrocarbon-burner for forcing a flame into the furnace against the bafdestandard, the said standard causing the flame to completely fill the space about the crucible in the furnace, soas to evenly heat the contents thereof.

It also consists in certain other-novel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a furnace constructed in tion through the hydrocarbon-burner forming part of the furnace mechanism. Fig. 6 is an .tion of the furnace.

end elevation of the said burner looking at the nozzle end thereof.

This invention has for its object the provision of furnaces which carry crucibles for smelting metals with means for thoroughly and evenly heating the said furnace and'the crucible within the same, so that the smelting operation, can be carried on to advantage.

In the drawings the preferable form of the device is shown, in which the furnace is made up of a closure 1, formed with a metallic shell 2, lined with fire-brick 3. The shell 2 may consist of sheet metal bent to'a cylindrical form and secured together at its edges, and the fire-bri ck are arranged within the shell to a suitable thickness to protect the same from the action of heat in the furnace. A hearth 4 is formed at the bottom and supported in the shell in any suitable manner, and an inlet-opening 5 is provided just above the surface of the hearth, so that the-heating-flames introduced at this point will spread over the top of the hearth. The opening 5 may be shell 2 and the fire-brick 3 to the inner por- A crucible 6 of usual shape and material is mounted within the furnace-closure, its upper edge extending to a point within close proximity to the top of the furnace-closure. The upper end of the crucible does not quite fill the space between the furnace-walls and iswedged in position at the top by a number of wedge blocks 7, preferably of fire-brick. These Wedge-blocks .7 thus serveto hold the crucible firmly and ing-spout, as 9, is formed in the upper edge of the furnace Wall. The crucible tapers downwardly to its bottom, where it rests upon a standard or support 10, erected upon the hearth 4 of the furnace. The standard 10 not only supports the crucible in position,but cooperates with the heating apparatus of the furnace in causing a proper distribution of heat about the crucible. The said standard is formed with sharp edges, the block being preferably made rectangular, as shown in Fig. 4, one of the edges of the block being presented to the opening 5, so that the incoming flame is split and sent evenly upon both sides of the block and upwardly around the crucible, so as to thoroughly and evenly heat the materials in the said crucible. The standard may be made of various sizes and of various shapes, but a standard which is provided with a sharp edge presented to the incoming flame, so as to divide the same, is found in practice to be excellent for properly disseminating the flame through the furnace.

An important feature of the furnace mechanism is the burner,which cooperates with the standard or baifleblock 10 in providing an even heat for the crucible. The said mechanism consists principally of a burner 11, which is formed with an outer casing 12, preferably cylindrical, having two chambers 13 and 14 formed therein. A partition 15 is formed between said chambers, having a screw-threaded aperture 16, into which an inner tube 17 may be screwed. The tube 17 is formedwith aheadlS, by which it may be turned to screw it into the aperture 16 and to assist in forming a tight joint between the compartments 13 and 1% at the wall 15. The casing is contracted at one end of the chamber let to form an outlet-passage 19 for air, which is introduced into said chamber through an inlet-passage 20, formed in one of the walls of said chamber. The outlet -passage 19 is preferably merely a cylindrical opening, and through it projects the contracted nozzle end 21 of the tube 17. The nozzle 21 extends through the passage 19, so as to be either flush with the outer end of the casing 12 or so as to extend a little beyond the same. Oil is supplied to the burner through an inlet 22, leading into the chamber 13. The oil then passes through the tube 17 and out through the aperture 23 in the nozzle 21. The flow of oil is controlled by a needle-valve 24, the point of which engages a valveseat 25 at the inner end of the passage 23. The needle -valve passes through a packinggland 26,which also closes the aperture 27 of the chamber 13, through which the tube 17 is inserted in assembling the parts of the burner. Any suitable handhold or wheel 28 is provided on the outer end of the valve-stem for turning the valve. The inlet of oil and air is preferably controlled by valves or stop-cocks 29 and 30, respectively. The casing 12 of the burner may be provided with a base or standard 31, which can be bolted or otherwise secured to any suitable support. The burner is mounted so that its nozzle is opposite the opening 5 of the furnace. This burner is admirably adapted for the use of hydrocarbon fuel, especially crude petroleum, which is fed into the chamber 13 either by gravity or under suitable pressure, the oil passing out through a great extent.

the nozzle 21 in suitable quantities for ignition. Air under pressure is delivered to the chamber 1st and is forced out through the passage 19 around the nozzle 21, and the air thus forced out through the nozzle takes up the oil which drops from the passage 23 and becoming thoroughly mixed with the same not only forces the flame as the mixture is ignited into the furnace, but assists in the thorough combustion of the hydrocarbon products. The burner does not project into the opening 5, so that the furnace can be moved or tipped for pouring out the contents of the crucible without interfering with the burner. The space between the burner and the opening 5 also permits of an ample supply of air reaching the flame.

The furnace 1 is preferably provided with laterally-proj ecting tr unnions 32 and 33,which are secured to the shell and project laterally therefrom, so as to engage bearings 34 in su porting the standards 35. The standards are made a sufficient height to permit of the rocking of the furnace upon the said bearings for pouring metal from the crucible. One of said trunnions, as 32, is provided with a wormwheel 36, which meshes with a worm 37, carried. by a shaft 38. The shaft 33 is mounted in bearings 39, secured to the standard 35. The shaft 38 is provided with a hand-wheel 4:0, by which it may be rotated. The furnace is mounted upon the standards in such a manner that the pouring-spout 8 and 9 lies in a plane at right angles to the axis of the trunnions. In this manner the furnace may be tipped upon the trunnions in order to pour material from the crucible. The opening 5 is preferably located in the vertical plane of the trunnions,so that the burner will not be in the way when it is desired to tip the furnace in pouring from the crucible. The worm and worm-wheel controlling the movement of the furnace makes it possible for the said furnace to be kept under complete control at all times. There is no chance with a mechanism of this sort of the furnace being accidentally tipped too far, so as to spill the contents of the crucible, as the weightof the furnace cannot force the worm about its axis.

It will be observed from the above description that my improved furnace is simple in form and yet possessed of several advantages. The crucible is so held in position by the wedge-blocks as to make it possible to tip the furnace and pour the contents from the crucible without moving the crucible from place, and this greatly lengthens the life of the crucible, as the continued handling of the crucible in taking it out and replacing it in a furnace,'especially when in a heated condition, tends to alter the shape of the crucible and render it liable to being broken after use only a few times. In the present instance the life of a crucible is found to be protracted to The mounting of the crucible in the furnace also contributes to the even heating of the contents thereof, for the baifie nets of combustion must escape.

supports at the bottom splits the incoming blast of oil and air and dividing it evenly sends it around .all sides of the crucible, and the burning products are held to some extent in contact with the crucible until they escape from the furnace by reason of the contracted opening at the top, through which the prod- The outlet may also be further controlled, if desired, by the use of a cover or lid 41, which is placed over the top of a crucible and extends partially over the outlet-openings around the edge of the crucible.

The burner described is exceedingly economical, and a small quantity of oil only is necessary when it is so thoroughly mixed with the air, as above described, to produce great heat,and the liquid fuel is completely ignited, so that no smoke passes out the top of the furnace.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A smelting apparatus comprising a casing forming a furnace, a crucible fixedly mounted therein, a burner for forcing flames into said furnace around the crucible, and a battle-block mounted upon the bottom of the furnace and supporting thecrucible above the said bottom, the said block dividing the flame and delivering it equally beneath and around the crucible.

2. A smelting-furnace mechanism comprising a casing, a crucible mounted therein, a block having a dividing edge, for supporting the crucible in the casing, a hydrocarbonburner arranged directly-opposite said dividing edge for forcing flames into the said casing, the block beneath the crucible splitting and spreading the flame evenly around the said crucible.

3. A furnace structure comprising a casing having a hearth in the bottom portion thereof,

an inlet leading through the casing to said. hearth, a hydrocarbon-burner for injecting flames into said opening, the burner not extending into the opening, a baffle-block arranged opposite the opening and provided with a sharp corner against which the flame impinges, the flame being split and spread thereby through the furnace, and a crucible mounted on said block and spaced within the casing.

' 4. A furnace comprising a cylindrical sh ell, fire-brick lining mounted within the same and a fire-brick hearth at the bottom, an inletaperture being provided in the shell and firebrick, a burner for mixing air and oil and forcing it in an ignited condition through said opening and into the furnace, a block square in cross-section mounted upon the hearth, one of its edges being turned toward the flame for dividing it, a crucible mounted in the furnace and resting on the said block, wedges forced between the upper edge of the crucible and the furnace for supporting the crucible in position, and means for rocking the furnace for emptying the crucible.

5. A furnace comprising a casing, a crucible mounted therein, a hydrocarbon-burner for forcing the flames into the casing, trunnions carried by the casing and pivot-ally supporting the same, standards for supporting the said trunnions, the burner being located in the vertical plane of the axis of the trunnions, aworm-wheel carried by one of the trunnions, a worm engaging the same for turning it and tipping the furnace, a shaft and hand-wheel for operating the worm, the mounting of the crucible being such that molten metal therein may be poured therefrom without dislodging the crucible, the furnacebeing also moved away from the burner.

6. A smelting-furnace, comprising a casing, a crucible mounted therein, a supportingblock for the crucible made square in cross section, the said casing having an inlet-opening in its walls opposite one edge of said block, and a burner for directing a flame into.

W'itnesses:

MURRAY Hanson, J os. G. BANNOY. 

